Let’s start with an easy, no-knead recipe for Dutch Oven Bread, a delicious dipper for a hearty soup such as Split Pea-Barley from the original “Kosher Palette” or Eating Well’s Very Green Lentil Soup. But this is the time of year I like to put my slow cooker to use, freeing up the cooktop for other dishes. I make a variation of Taste of Home’s crockpot Vegetable Lentil Soup featuring butternut squash:
Vegetable Lentil Soup
Yield: About 4 quarts
Ingredients:
- 6 cups peeled, cubed butternut squash
- 2 cups sliced carrots
- 1 ½ cups chopped onion
- 2 cups dried lentils, rinsed
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tablespoon each dried basil and dried oregano
- 8 cups vegetable broth
- 2 (14 ½-ounce) cans diced tomatoes, undrained
- Salt and cracked black pepper to taste
- Splash of red wine vinegar
- 16 ounces frozen cut green beans
Directions:
- Place everything through broth in a slow cooker. Cover and cook on low until lentils are tender, about 4 hours.
- Stir in tomatoes, flavorings and green beans. Cover and cook on high about 30 minutes to heat through.
A wonderful and deliciously warming entrée is Flash-Braised Chicken Breasts with Apples, which I adapted from Better Homes and Gardens.
For those who don’t eat meat, serve Everything Spice Roasted Salmon. I make a variation of Elizabeth Kurtz’s recipe, and the crispy fried onions in the topping are not really optional; however, crush them well so they adhere with the rest of the topping.
A pretty and seasonal side for the autumn table is Smashed Spiced Sweet Potatoes, which I found on AOL:
Smashed Spiced Sweet Potatoes
Servings: 10
Ingredients:
- 4 pounds sweet potatoes
- 2 tablespoons vegan butter
- 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 2 teaspoons cumin
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 F.
- Pierce each potato in several places with a fork and roast in oven until soft, about 45 minutes to an hour.
- Transfer to a cutting board and let stand until cool enough to handle. Slip off the skins and slice potatoes thickly; transfer to a large bowl.
- Add vegan butter and smash potatoes with potato masher until fluffy but still lumpy. Add maple syrup and seasonings; fold through to combine.
Now the salad, a simple bowl of winter greens which sets off the meal perfectly. Mix baby kale with radicchio in a Dijon vinaigrette, and toss in salted, toasted pepitas.
For a fitting fall finale, nothing is prettier or tastier than Andrea Updyke’s Easy Apple Cider Cake. It is indeed easy, and as you know, I am all about a great kitchen hack at this delicious time of year.
So from our home to yours, b’ta’avon; enjoy autumn with a cozy meal!
And may we hear only b’sorot tovot soonest.
Dorene Richman has taught cooking classes, written recipe columns, and was the recipe testing coordinator for the original award-winning “Kosher Palette” cookbook. She is a passionate cook and baker for whom cooking is therapy, as well as being a pescatarian, so no meat recipes are featured. For the rest of the above recipes, she can be reached at [email protected]
